text:
We've all heard of concert tickets that sold out in record time. Last year Garth Brooks sold more than 140,000 tickets in a day to a benefit show. Lady Antebellum sold out an arena in Georgia in seven minutes last year as well. Most recently, Coachella sold all of its 75,000 tickets in five days. As of today, LCD Soundsystem's farewell show at Madison Square Garden can be added to the list of those artists, except this time, nobody wins.
How could LCD Soundsystem tickets sell out, yet pretty much nobody at all was able to access the tickets that were on sale? LCD has been wondering that themselves too, and they've been expressing their outrage and frustration on their Twitter (@lcdsoundsystem) all day.
"Ok... did ANYone get a ticket? shit. please tell me? #gotaticket" was posted on their Twitter, followed by, "seriously--NO ONE? NO ONE on here?" The band then stated that they're trying to work things out with Ticketmaster to figure out what happened. After all, when someone's selfish enough to have created a Ticketmaster/LiveNation empire in the first place, accidents can happen since there's only one source for tickets. When Paul McCartney tickets for his concert in Mexico City went on sale last summer, his fans' demand was so high that it crashed the Ticketmaster servers. Springsteen fans have also had their share of issues with Ticketmaster too. Could there have been a glitch with the event's Ticketmaster page?
It seems as though, apart from a few exceptions, the only people who were able to get ahold of tickets are those who bought tickets during the presale period or those who used the American Express deal. This extreme ticket crisis has caused scalpers to have a field day, which means that StubHub's been poppin'. Tickets are currently being resold on StubHub for as low as $120 for one seat and as high as an unthinkable and very greedy $11,000 for 17 spots in the general admission pit. Twitter users are already suggesting that LCD Soundsystem should have a free show in Central Park to make up for all the chaos, like M.I.A. did this summer to make it up to her fans for a previous shit-tastic show. The Village Voice has also collected a slew of angry tweets that were posted in response to this unusual occurrence. Madness, I say!
Clearly there's something fishy going on here. If a venue the size of Madison Square Garden sold out in seconds but there was a four-ticket limit per Ticketmaster buyer, how on earth did these tickets get claimed so quickly? How could someone on StubHub be selling 17 tickets?
StubHub and/or robots seem to be the culprit for now. James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem had been tweeting his dismay for StubHub last night. He wrote, "hey @StubHub... i pretty much guarantee "fans" aren't pricing these tickets. you're barely legal and you know it." He also wrote, "1500 for a single ticket? Fuck you, scalpers. You are parasites. I HATE you," in addition to "Eat shit @StubHub." Hell yeah, James! Way to stick it to the man. It's really respectable that the band is being so proactive about finding out who's behind this. Right now it's unclear what will come of this interesting incident, so while James Murphy works hard to figure out how to solve this mess, all we can do is refuse to support those scalpers at all costs and hope for an unlikely second farewell show.


text:
Diane Coyle has a great post reviewing various books about the future of cities. This is the money quote for me:
Is this the dawn of an era of powerful cities and weak nations — much like the age of city states half a millennium ago? It seems highly likely. More than half the world’s people live in urban areas now. Most economic activity consists of trade in ideas and people and goods and services between cities. Mayors are important figures, who for the most part feel less bound by the constricting conventions of national party politics. As ever, though, political and social institutions lag behind technological and economic trends, and in centralised polities like the UK urban renaissance would involve some big changes.

domain: news


text:
POLLOCKSVILLE, NC. - Ronnie Buck, & the team at Advanced Plastic Extrusion had no idea when the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) plagued the United States earlier in the year, they would play a huge factor in supplying acrylic sheet into the market. Businesses shutting down, closing retail stores, employees told to work from home.
The team at Advanced Plastic Extrusion could see what was happening and questioned whether or not they could play a role to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Once the CDC published protective measures for employers, "Install physical barriers, such as clear plastic sneeze guards, if feasible" the demand for clear sheet took off. According to Ronnie, "Before you could blink, customers were calling left and right for acrylic sheet.". The overwhelming demand for acrylic outpaced the supply to a level not measurable according to many in the acrylic industry. Suppliers rushed to get orders filled, even outsourcing material from overseas supply. Different plastic substrates were used to meet the crisis at hand. It appeared to be an all out battle for clear extruded sheet. The experienced team at APEX quickly met that rising customer demand, doubling their on site manufacturing personnel and ramping production to a continuous 24/7. This allowed APEX to supply enough acrylic sheets to make an estimated 2 million barriers to date.
Ronnie, Owner and CEO, said "We are proud to help our country and supply products to meet the need of our customers. We will continue to put our customers needs first any way we can. I am proud of our employees who continue to work through the pandemic who put in the hours to help out."


text:
We are delighted to announce the launch of our newest growth programme; Libra. Libra is an initiative to tackle the lack of diversity within the UK tech sector, with the inaugural 1.0 iteration focussing on supporting Black founders and their companies at a crucial stage of their scaling journey. With future iterations aiming to support further founders from underrepresented groups, the Libra programme aims to ultimately strengthen the UK’s position as one of the best places in the world to start and grow a business – for everyone.
With applications opening today (5th May 2021), we are looking for up to 30 founders who self-identify as Black or multiracial with Black heritage. The programme will run for 6 months, and consist of sessions and resources designed specifically to accelerate the development of high potential Black-founded tech companies at a pivotal stage of their growth.
Libra 1.0 will be a springboard for Black founders based in the UK who are growing and scaling despite VC funding challenges.
Why has Tech Nation created the Libra programme?
Having access to an extended network is important for a startup’s survival.
The Black Report by 10×10 and Google for startups highlights how important this is for Black founders based in the UK.
In 2020, Tech Nation partnered with and provided data for the Extend VC and Impact X report to look at how the colour of a founder’s skin can adversely affect their access to capital in the UK. The report highlighted that from 2009 till 2019, only 38 Black entrepreneurs received venture capital funding.
In the Atomico State of European Tech Report (2020), it was highlighted that, “the BLM movement has cast a spotlight on the massive racial inequalities in the European tech ecosystem.” The Tech Nation Report 2021 also explored the diversity of workers in UK tech.
The 2020 Diversity Beyond Gender report found that in 2020, 76% of VC investment went to all-white founding teams, while only 23.36% went to mixed ethnicity founding teams and 0.24% of UK VC investment went to all-Black founding teams. Between 2009 and 2019, only 38 Black entrepreneurs received VC funding, while Black female entrepreneurs received the lowest amount of funding of the decade, at 0.02%. This equates to just one Black female founder – Sharmedean Reid of BeautyStack. It is also estimated that only 3% of VCs in the UK are Black, with only a few at partner level or in the position to make investment decisions.
Libra, named after the zodiac sign signifying ‘equilibrium’ and represented by a pair of scales, aims to counter these challenges by promoting equality of opportunity and equipping successful Black entrepreneurs with the knowledge, tools and network they need to continue on a strong growth trajectory.
At Tech Nation, we believe we can make a real difference and help support our future Libra alumni to reach unicorn status and beyond. The Libra programme is a step towards addressing racial inequality in UK Tech, focusing on entrepreneurs who are Black or multiracial with Black heritage facing barriers to accessing VC investment due to racial bias.
What will the Libra programme provide?
The free, non-residential, six-month programme is centred around themed insights sessions, delivered by some of the most established entrepreneurs, covering topics such as raising series A, selling into corporates, scaling your operations and expanding internationally.
Over 6 months, the 30 founders accepted into the programme will each receive over 60 hours of support, benefit from sessions delivered by successful entrepreneurs, and receive mentoring from world-leading scale coaches on fundamental growth challenges – from fundraising to international expansion.
The programme will be focused around four key offerings:
- Access to Networks: The Libra programme will foster a peer-to-peer network within the cohort, access to the cross programme Tech Nation session to foster a cross-sector network. Additionally, access to KIN (the Tech Nation Network Digital Platform), and the Alumni Network.
- Access to Commercial: Access to UK commercial, alumni and international commercial matchmaking.
- Access to Capital: Access to venture capital, angel investors and family offices.
- Leadership Development: From our customer discovery, we found the importance of having a separate safe space for Black founders to share their Black founder journey and worries. It’s important to have a specialised executive coach who has coached Black founders and help them with their leadership development. We will be hosting 6 Founder Circles, one per month, with an executive coach. The Founder Circle group will also be split into different intersectionalities. For example, a Black woman group. Black women experience a different founder journey than white women or Black men founders who need their own safe space.
The programme will have a focus on peer-to-peer learning, and the cohort will be introduced to key stakeholders and decision-makers at corporates, investment firms and government bodies during networking events. Additionally, the cohort will have access to the cross-programme sessions hosted by Tech Nation sector programmes focussed on Fintech, Applied AI, and Net Zero.
What is the criteria for the Libra programme?
The criteria for the Libra programme are as follows:
- The company must have at least one founder that self-identifies as Black or multiracial with Black heritage This member must have a majority/equal equity stake in the business.
- Digital tech business with a product or service
- Incorporated within the last 1- 5 years
- Headquartered in the UK
- Your company will be at the Seed to pre-Series A funding stage.
- If bootstrapped, your max annual revenue is below £1.5m
- Be able to demonstrate market traction
- At least one active client or pilot
- Ambition to scale
- Able to commit to the programme
- The programme is not open to consultancies or agencies
If the above criteria sounds like you, apply today – and if you would like to support the Libra programme or have any feedback, please get in touch. Applications close on 30th June.
We are also looking for applications for our other growth programmes: Future Fifty 10.0, Upscale 7.0, Net Zero 2.0, Applied AI 3.0 and Fintech 4.0. Take a look at the criteria to see if your company fits the bill.


text:
ZTE has just released a brand new affordable smartphone in the U.S. Dubbed as ZTE Blade Max 3, the new device takes over the place of ZTE Imperial Max which was launched by a U.S. Cellular last year as well.
Talking about the smartphone, ZTE Blade Max 3 sports a 6-inch display with 1080 x 1920 pixels and it also has 2.5D Gorilla Glass for added protection. The smartphone is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor which is paired with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of expandable storage space. The handset is backed by a 4000mAh battery and the company claims that the device will deliver a talk time of up to 40 hours, r a stand-by time of up to 31 days.
As for the cameras, the smartphone features a 13 MP dual rear cameras and 5 MP front-facing camera. Other features of the phone include a fingerprint scanner, a USB Type-C port and a dedicated DAC (Digital-to-Analog Convertor) that provides high-quality audio experience (via headphones). The phone runs on Android 6 Marshmallow.
Connectivity options also include 4G LTE, WiFi (2.4GHz/5GHz 802.11 b/g/n/ac), Bluetooth 4.2. Features like GPS, Accelerometer, Light, Proximity, Hall, Gyro, and Compass also come along with the handset. The device measures 6.49" x 3.31" x 0.35" and weighs 7.1 ounces.
The ZTE Blade Max 3 is priced at $199.99 (approx Rs. 12,788) after a $100 online discount.


text:
Cosmetics giant Unilever and media company Vice are to launch a platform for women together, which is intended to "create a real dialogue" between Unilever and its female customers, as these generate 78 % of the company's turnover.
Focus on Dove
The platform's messages will mainly be broadcast through Youtube and Snapchat, but Vice will also launch a new TV channel called Broadly. That channel will launch in august, but Vice will divulge more information during a panel discussion at the Cannes Lions Festival, the world's largest award show for creative communication companies.
Unilever will probably mostly focus on Dove and TRESemmé products on Broadly, which will broadcast several series, including documentaries. The company feels this is the deal way to "drive purposeful, authentic and lasting conversations with our consumers, particularly the worldwide community of young women", according to Chief Marketing Officer Keith Weed.


text:
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Try Kayaking for free (Saturday 28 May)
There’s a great chance to try kayaking for free at this year’s OK Classic Fishing Tournament in Swanage. While the tournament competitors are out on the water, a special demonstration day will be taking place where colourful recreational sit-on-tops will be on display and members of the public will also be able to get afloat and have a go.
No previous experience is necessary, safety equipment will be provided and participants will be fully supervised. There will also be plenty of free advice for anyone interested in getting started in the hugely popular sport of sit-on-top kayaking. The demonstration fleet will be based in Prince Albert Gardens, Swanage and launching will take place close by from the Monkey Beach
Last year the colourful event attracted huge interest. Sit-on-top kayaks are very stable, offer fantastic value for money and the self-draining, open cockpit design makes them very safe.


text:
President Abdul Hamid will distribute the awards to the winners at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka on Tuesday
Thirteen industrial units will receive “President's Award for Industrial Development 2016” in six categories for their contribution to the economy.
President Abdul Hamid will distribute the awards to the winners at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka on Tuesday.
A senior official of the Commerce Ministry told UNB that the awards will be given under six categories this year instead of five, with the inclusion of the “micro-industry” category, which has been added to the list for the first time.
The six industrial categories to be recognized will be large, medium, small, micro, cottage, and hi-tech.
Fariha Spinning Mills from Narayanganj will receive the first position award in the large industry category, while Spectra Engineers Limited and Envoy Textile Limited will be awarded for the second and third positions respectively in this category.
BRB Polymer Limited, Chittagong Denim Mills Limited, Basumati Distribution Limited will be awarded the first, second, and third prizes respectively in the medium-sized industry category.
In the small industry category, the winners are Runner Automobiles from Mymensingh, Oco-Tex Limited from Gazipur and Abul Industries, in that order.
Smart Leather Products will be the lone company recognized in the new micro-industry category.
Super Star Electrical Accessories Limited from Narayanganj and Service Engine Limited from Dhaka will be awarded under the hi-tech category, and lastly, Karupanno Weaving Factory will be the lone awardee in the cottage industry category.
The awards will be based on guidelines framed in 2013 by the ministry to encourage entrepreneurs to set up industries and infuse innovation and creativity, and encourage overall contribution of firms to the industrial sector.
The guideline says tax, loan, and bill defaulters will not be eligible for recognition, while the industrial entrepreneurs who are guilty of criminal offences in court or have any pending case will be disqualified.
According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics' Survey of Manufacturing Industries 2012, Bangladesh has 42,792 industrial establishments, 41% of which are micro-type manufacturing units, 37% small, 14% medium and 8% large.


text:
Boost VC announced today that it has closed a $6.6m funding round to accelerate 200 companies over three years, half of which will be focused on bitcoin.
Marc Andreessen, Ben Davenport, former American Online CEO Barry Schuler, Rothenberg Ventures, Maven II, Kilowatt Capital are among those that invested in the fund.
Boost founder and chief Adam Draper told CoinDesk that the fund’s investors are evidence of a trend of quality investors becoming drawn to the bitcoin space.
“Our goal is always to provide the companies with the best network to make their company the best it can be,” he said. “Our investors are keeping with that vision, and can provide experience and guidance and brand recognition for the startups.”
“Our focus over the past three years has been to find the most innovative people starting world changing companies. We are interested in everything from enterprise to rockets, 3D printing to bitcoin."
Draper said that bitcoin is in "repair mode", meaning that five years have passed of “playing with an incredible toy”, but that now is the time to fill in its gaps and fix its problems.
Scale, usability and security problems are all areas for opportunity in the bitcoin space, he said, adding that he believes there will be an increasing number of companies that emerge to build on these concerns. Fraper cited HashRabbit and BlockCypher as two such companies already addressing problems in the space.
“Other than that, companies that are focused on the block chain are high on our list, and then services surrounding bitcoin that support the ecosystem, but can also translate to other industries – these companies mostly are based in compliance.”
Draper pointed to Hedgy, Pylon and BlockScore as examples of such startups – all companies in Boost’s fourth 'tribe', which debuted at last week's Demo Day following the completion of the California-based accelerator's fourth session. In all 15 bitcoin-focused companies took part.
Notably, Draper’s grandfather and father, Bill and Tim Draper, also took part in the latest investment round, making Boost the first fund backed by three generations of venture capitalists.
Draper founded Boost VC in early 2011. Since then 69 companies have been accelerated via its program, 95% of which are still in business. Boost says it aims to have 250 companies in its portfolio by 2017.
Marc Andreessen , Ben Davenport, former American Online CEO Barry Schuler, Rothenberg Ventures, Maven II, Kilowatt Capital are among those that invested in the fund.
Boost founder and chief Adam Draper told CoinDesk that the fund’s investors are evidence of a trend of quality investors becoming drawn to the […]
Ukrainian news media is reporting that last month an illegal cryptocurrency mining operation was discovered and confiscated on the site… Read More
While Jerome Powell's highly anticipated Jackson Hole speech was, in the words of Brean Capital's Russ Certo "underwhelming and anti-climatic",… Read More
Criminals often express their favoritism toward cryptocurrencies. The perceived privacy and anonymity associated with this payment method makes for an… Read More
Negative interest rates, a common occurrence in Europe these days, are unpleasant for both banks and clients. And financial institutions… Read More
As of late, bitcoin – the granddaddy of all crypto – is once again experiencing small bursts of bearish behavior.… Read More
A gloomy stock market must wrestle with China's latest taunt, in which it warned it would "fight to the end"… Read More


text:
Hot on the heels of news that moviegoers want fewer trailers during their theatrical experience, Regal Cinemas and Cinemark movie theaters are giving audiences exactly what they want: even more commercials in movie theaters.
Regal Cinemas and Cinemark have struck a new deal with National CineMedia to add more in-theater advertising that will play on the big screen before the attached trailers play. Thankfully, it won’t be nearly as long of an advertisement as the entire line-up of trailers that traditionally play before a movie. Read More »
Following in the footsteps of AMC Stubs A-List, the national theater chain Regal Cinemas is introducing their Regal Unlimited movie ticket subscription service, which we first heard about towards the beginning of July. The new service will be available before the end of the month, and it’s coming with three different subscription tiers. Not unlike the recently changed model for AMC Stubs A-List, the new Regal subscription dictates which theaters you can see movies at based on the price you’re paying. Get the full details on the Regal Unlimited subscription plans below. Read More »
Back in April, we heard that the movie ticket subscription service MoviePass had lost 90% of their subscribers after all the problems they’ve had over the past year or so. The company claimed these numbers were false, but they’ve yet to prove otherwise. However, even though Sinemia has shut down entirely after facing similar business problems, MoviePass still clings to life, but as of now, they won’t be available for several weeks due to maintenance that will reportedly improve the company’s mobile app.
Meanwhile, Regal Cinemas has finally announced their own movie tickets subscription service is coming to life in the form of Regal Unlimited. The service will give unlimited tickets to subscribers, but there are pricing tiers that dictate where customers will be able to see movies. Read More »
Even though Roma ended up with a total of 10 Oscar nominations this morning, including Best Picture, that’s not a good enough reason for AMC Theatres, Regal Cinemas and Cinemark to pack away their grudge with Netflix. Every year, the two movie theater chains host a showcase of all the Best Picture nominees, but since Alfonso Cuarón‘s critically acclaimed Roma is a Netflix movie that didn’t stick to the traditional theatrical release plans, they won’t include the film in their line-up. You know, like a pouting child. Read More »
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is just over a month away from getting released, and tickets are already on sale right now. However, if you haven’t picked up your tickets to the earliest possible showing yet, you might want to look into a couple other options that will be at our disposal when the movie hits the big screen at the beginning of May.
For those looking to spend a little extra time in the theater, there will be a Guardians of the Galaxy double feature that will allow you to watch the first film before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. But if you’re looking for a way to see the sequel as many times as you want, there’s an Ultimate Ticket option that you might want to take advantage of, and it comes with quite the collectible piece of memorabilia.
Find out about the Guardians of the Galaxy double feature and Ultimate Ticket after the jump. Read More »
Tuesday, the hackers that exposed Sony’s internal workings went a step further and issued a big threat, invoking 9/11 in a statement that promised action against theaters showing The Interview. But the Department of Homeland Security — a group that really doesn’t mess around when it comes to this sort of thing — said there was no credible information to indicate an actual threat. Sony was fairly magnanimous about the situation, saying it would allow theaters to make the decision to show the film or not, even if bookings had already been locked in.
Last night Carmike Cinemas and Bow Tie Cinemas pulled the film, and today in a precedent-setting move, the five major theater chains in the US and Canada all dropped The Interview.
Update: Sony is now considering a VOD release of the film; more info below.
Update #2: Sony has canceled the December theatrical release of The Interview. Full statement below.
Update #3: Sony has now confirmed they have “no further release plans” for the film while American Intelligence has officially linked North Korea to the Sony hack. Details below.
Read More »


text:
McKinsey: Monetizing Freely Available Data Worth $3.2-$5.4Trillion per Year
From the Wall Street Journal, Sept. 12:
‘The opportunity we are chasing is that in all this huge data there are little nuggets of alpha gold’
A new species is prowling America’s most obscure industry conferences: the data hunter.
Erik Haines, head of data and analytics at New York-based Guidepoint Global LLC, trawls the globe for meaningful data to sell to hedge-fund clients. One of his best strategies is to attend the most seemingly mundane gatherings, such as the Association for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management conference in San Diego last year, and the National Industrial Transportation League event in New Orleans.
“I walk the floor, try to talk to companies and get a sense within an industry of who collects data that could provide a unique insight into that industry,” he said.
Hedge funds and other sophisticated investors are increasingly relying on intermediaries like Mr. Haines, 35 years old, as they seek insights into a company’s sales and health that aren’t readily available from conventional sources.
The information ranges from crop yields calculated by satellite images and linguistic analyses of speeches by CEOs to credit-card transactions and monitoring of sentiment about companies on social media.
The accuracy of this data is a subject of debate within the investment world, with some arguing the information is based around samples riddled with biases and errors.
Data hunters scour the business world for companies that have data useful for predicting the stock prices of other companies. For instance, a company that processes transactions at stores could have market-moving information on how certain products or brands are selling or a company that provides software to hospitals could give insights into how specific medical devices are being used.
Gone are the days when a hedge fund would call up a random sampling of Aéropostale stores to ask managers about sales or simply visit big-box retailers to get a feel for the traffic.
In one recent example, Mr. Haines discovered a mobile advertising company that also collected data on the type of device someone was using when displaying an ad to them. The data helped estimate iPhone sales ahead of Apple Inc.’s announcements in 2011 and 2012, and it was lucrative for Mr. Haines’s old company, Quanton Data.
He and the team from Quanton joined Guidepoint, a company that has traditionally provided experts and survey data to customers, earlier this summer.
Some hedge funds have built data-hunting teams internally, especially so-called quants whose strategies rely entirely on finding patterns in large sets of data. Quants typically analyze market data—prices and volume over time—but increasingly are taking those skills to this type of data, which is called “exhaust,” because it is a secondary result of a company’s main business.
WorldQuant LLC, a quantitative hedge fund based in Connecticut, has a team that reviews hundreds of data sets a year and works to bring online as many as possible that provide some value, according to a person familiar with its strategy. Its staff of scientists and mathematicians then go to work on the data to see if it helps predict revenues at companies or other market phenomena.
A host of startups also are trying to make it easier for funds without high-powered data-science staffers to get the same insights. One, called Quandl Inc., based in Toronto, offers a platform that includes traditional market data alongside several “alternative” data.
“The opportunity we are chasing is that in all this huge data there are little nuggets of alpha gold,” said Tammer Kamel, its founder and CEO.
The firm struck a deal with a large insurance company to find out every day what kinds of cars received insurance policies, a possible indicator of how sales are going for automobile manufacturers.
Another deal is with a company that surveys construction permits across county municipal offices, which is a “proxy for construction activity,” he said. While there are indexes that compile official construction numbers from the same data, the company’s goal is to be ahead of these indexes and take advantage of the government’s infrequent updates.This was highlighted by Matt Levine a couple days ago and then brought to my attention again yesterday so here's the HT to Mr. Levine:
Most data in the world is fairly useless for predicting the prices of stocks and other securities, which makes data hunting all the more difficult, he said. Some cite social media as a poor predictor of company behavior....MORE
Fake Accounts and Artisanal Data


text:
Photo credit: Erica Berger
DMN revealed the winners of its DMN Awards at a celebratory event in New York on Wednesday evening. Held at the Dream Midtown hotel’s Fishbowl bar, the event announced the companies and individuals who showcased the most innovative campaigns, technologies, and personalities in the marketing industry.
21 winners and 18 honorable mentions were recognized at the event. DMN received more than 150 DMN Award applications across 23 categories, including B2B, consumer, entertainment, healthcare, and technology.
Blake Cahill, global head of digital and social marketing at Royal Philips, and Chris Golec, CEO of Demandbase, were the big winners of the night, taking home the Marketer of the Year and Marketing Tech Executive of the Year awards, respectively. Allocadia, a provider of marketing performance management software, also snagged a best-in-show award with the Best Marketing Tech Company of the Year award, and Samsung Electronics America and PMK*BNC received the Best Campaign of the Year award for their Suicide Squad virtual reality experience.
The audience was intrigued to see the battle between established brands and relative newcomers in some of the categories, with Adobe and Salesforce prevailing in Best Marketing Cloud Company and Best Email Marketing Company, respectively, but Allocadia — founded in Vancouver, Canada in 2010 — winning the tech company best-in-show award.
The winners were chosen by a jury of more than 30 high-level marketing professionals, including Cecile Thirion, VP of marketing for Xerox Services, and Jamie LaRose, VP of digital marketing at Wells Fargo.
Here are the complete lists of the winners and honorable mentions.


text:
Wall Street whipped investors around Friday like a run-amok thrill ride. The unusually volatile session tested the endurance – and stomachs – of more than a few market players.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ultimately rose 31.17 points to close at 10493.89, finding strength in better-than-expected earnings from Eastman Kodak (EK) and Caterpillar (CAT). The blue-chip index ended the week with its fifth-straight record high.
Tech stocks, meanwhile, returned to the doghouse after briefly coming back to life on Thursday. A warning from Sun Microsystems that the computer market faces tougher times ahead sent a chill through the entire sector, and scared off those few traders who had been brave enough to start picking through the debris in search of bargains.
"We're seeing movements in a single day that, in older, prehistoric times – five years ago – would have taken weeks or months," said Bill Meehan, chief market analyst with Cantor Fitzgerald. "I feel a lot more comfortable with having cash than with excessive exposure to the equity market."
A "very substantial" decline in US stocks is around the corner, he believes, "which could have the potential to disrupt the global economy."
As for tech shares, Meehan doesn't hold much hope there either. "With computer prices falling," he said, "I'm starting to wonder if the same number of PCs will be made in the United States as TVs."
While Meehan's take is a good deal gloomier than most market watchers', it seemed to be supported, at least in part, by Sun Microsystems (SUNW), which dropped US$5.44 to $55 even as the company topped estimates with a quarterly profit of 71 cents a share. Present earnings notwithstanding, the situation down the road isn't very encouraging.
Investors focused on CEO Scott McNealy comparing the months ahead to "heartbreak hill" as Y2K worries take a greater toll on computer sales. Sun's Chief Financial Officer, Mike Lehman, echoed this sentiment when he said he was approaching future quarters "a bit more conservatively" than analysts. With Intel having said pretty much the same thing earlier this week, traders feel that the message has come across loud and clear: no growth in tech.
It could be, of course, that leading hardware makers are simply laying the groundwork for pleasant surprises in the next earnings season (it wouldn't be the first time). But most investors are playing it safe and shifting their money to "cyclical" sectors such as energy and heavy industry, which are seen as finally coming into their own after years in the shadow of their more glamorous tech and Internet cousins.
Not that Net shares have totally lost their luster. Amazon.com (AMZN) climbed 14 percent to $190 as Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette upgraded the company's stock to "top pick" from "buy," and raised its 12-month price target to $280. Analyst Jamie Kiggen was especially entranced with Amazon's new auction service, which he thinks could generate more than $20 million in revenue this year, and as much as $65 million next year.
Inktomi (INKT) slipped 69 cents to $118.50 after posting a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss of 9 cents a share. Excite (XCIT) declined $7.56 to $139.38 as it revealed a pro forma setback of 4 cents a share.
Looking to head off the rumor mill, Lycos (LCOS) slipped $2.31 to $92.25 after saying that its own quarterly loss won't be any worse than anticipated, and that revenue should more than double in the period. Lycos, soon-to-be parent of Wired News, wants to put out any smoldering brushfires as it pushes ahead with its merger with USA Networks. Disenchanted shareholders are looking for any excuse to scotch the deal, which places a minimal premium on Lycos' market value.
"This week we had Infoseek come up short and Excite hit in line with expectations," said Michael Wallace, an analyst with Warburg Dillon Read. "Lycos wants people to know there's nothing wrong with the sector."
He added that most observers still think the deal with USA Networks will go through, but that the terms of the tie-up likely will be renegotiated to be more attractive to rebellious Lycos shareholders.
For its part, America Online (AOL) eased $1.63 to $142.25 despite news that it will introduce a new breed of Internet terminal that's more telephone than PC. The device, aimed at the same sort of technologically challenged user targeted by WebTV, would allow Net access and e-mail using a small screen and keyboard. It'll probably be popular, too.
Microsoft just can't catch a break. Only a few days after receiving a tepid response to its stab at dominating the online music game, Redmond now faces a new challenge from International Business Machines and Sony, which are teaming up to develop their own pirate-proof, digital music standard. Considering Sony's clout in the recording industry, the new alliance should stand a pretty good chance of winning approval from other industry heavyweights.
The downtrend in tech stocks, however, kept the announcement from pushing share prices higher. IBM (IBM) fell $7 to $170.75, and Sony (SNE) was down $1.13 at $99.69. Microsoft (MSFT) shed $2.63 to $86.25.
Lastly, Hitachi (HIT) is following up on its earlier decision to slash 6,500 jobs by laying down the law for all remaining employees: They have to dress more casually. The company believes that if everyone wears khakis and polo shirts, it will foster a greater sense of individuality.
The new dress code will be enforced as of next Wednesday. Hitachi's shares rose 38 cents to $73.


text:
Founder of SanRemo Bakery in Etobicoke dies from COVID-19
The founder of an iconic Etobicoke bakery has died of COVID-19.
SanRemo Bakery posted on its Instagram account that founder Natale Bozzo died after spending more than six weeks in hospital.
The 75-year-old was reportedly in good health before he caught the virus.
“He fought very hard, he was in good health prior to this, and we learned of his failing health through very difficult phone calls from the hospital and thankfully we were able to say goodbye,” the family said in an Instagram post. “He was larger than life and we will miss him dearly and will work very hard to keep his memory alive and to honour him.”
Bozzo came to Canada from Italy at the age of 15 and began working at a bakery in Little Italy before opening SanRemo in 1969 with his brothers. He took over sole ownership of the bakery in the 90s, manning the business with his three sons. Even in retirement, Bozzo could still be seen at the bakery, lending a hand “as it was his passion,” his family said.
SanRemo closed for two weeks last month after some staff tested positive for the virus.
The bakery says the store has gone through a thorough deep-clean and the affected staff were working off hours and had no contact with customers.


text:
July 2, 2015
News & Features
Safety experts have advice on ways to germ-proof your food, and still save money.
Salmonella infections in toddlers have been traced to dry pet food, the first time a strain has been linked to the food, health officials say.
A flavoring ingredient used in thousands of processed foods is contaminated with salmonella, the Food and Drug Administration says.
Thousands of processed food products contain an ingredient that federal regulators say was contaminated with salmonella, although so far only a few dozen have been recalled.
A new drug-resistant strain of salmonella is causing an unusual number of deaths in Africa.
Ending years of squabbling among agencies, the administration announced a rule to combat salmonella and promised more food safety overhauls.
Nestlé USA recalled its Toll House refrigerated cookie dough on Friday after health officials linked the dough to infections from the bacteria E. coli in as many as 66 people in 28 states.
Created when most foods were grown and consumed locally, the nation’s food safety system needs a thorough overhaul, health officials said.
As a major nut processor agreed to recall its 2008 crop, the Obama administration warned of stiffer penalties.
A majority of adults in the survey also expressed doubt that industry and federal agencies are able to keep food safe.
MOST POPULAR - HEALTH
- The New Old Age: More Caregivers Are No Spring Chickens Themselves
- Well: Older Athletes Have a Strikingly Young Fitness Age
- Well: With Summer Sun Come Signs of Danger
- Well: Sugary Drinks Take a Deathly Toll
- Well: The Joy of (Just the Right Amount of) Sex


text:
Microprocessor giant Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) recently announced its next-generation high-end desktop processor family, known as the Core X-series of chips. This product family is aimed at gamers, content creators, and other users that demand more computing power than typical personal computer users need to perform their tasks.
Intel's high-end desktop processors have historically been derived from the chips that the company builds for the server/workstation market, and the Core X-based processors are no different in this regard.
Where Intel has made a change in this generation -- and it is a subtle one, to be sure -- is in the platform controller hub, or PCH, that powers the motherboards the new Core X chips plug into.
In this column, I'd like to go over that change and what it could mean for the company's high-end desktop platform business now and in the future.
How things were
Prior high-end desktop platforms used the same PCH chip that was used in the company's high-end datacenter platforms. The datacenter PCH chips generally pack a lot more "stuff" than their mainstream desktop computer-oriented PCH counterparts.
It's worth noting, though, that Intel has traditionally updated its datacenter PCH chips at a slower pace than it has its personal computer-specific PCH chips. This meant that at launch, the high-end desktop platforms were often more feature-rich than their mainstream desktop counterparts, but the mainstream desktop platforms would enjoy quicker PCH updates.
What this ultimately resulted in is that in the middle of and toward the end of an Intel high-end desktop platform's life, the cheaper mainstream Intel desktop platforms were often simply more robust and, therefore, more desirable.
Mainstream and high-end desktop now share common PCH
Intel launched its latest high-end desktop platform a few days ago, and the PCH that pairs with it -- known as X299 -- isn't the same PCH that will be part of the company's upcoming Purley server platform.
Instead, based on the published specifications of the X299 PCH, it appears to be nearly identical to the mainstream desktop Z270 PCH that Intel released earlier this year in capabilities; the only difference is that the X299 PCH supports a maximum of 8 SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports, while the Z270 supports just six. I suspect that Z270 and X299 are the same chip, with a couple of SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports disabled on the PCH chips sold as Z270s.
What this means for Intel's high-end desktop business
The potential downside is that, at launch, a "new" high-end desktop platform going forward won't be as feature-rich as "new" high-end desktop platforms were in the past.
However, there are numerous positives that I think will ultimately outweigh that negative.
Indeed, Intel should be able to update its high-end desktop PCH chips on an annual basis (in line with the mainstream desktop platform) now, rather than once every two to three years, as was the case when the high-end desktop PCH chips were the same ones as those used in the datacenter platforms.
This should allow Intel's high-end desktop platform to feel "fresher," and it could also make life better for Intel's motherboard partners. In the past, the motherboard makers would try to build a second wave of motherboards based on the same chipset (usually by revamping the look of the board, adding auxiliary chips to enable new features, and so on).
That worked, but it's obviously a costly, inelegant, and frankly less marketable solution. It's better and cheaper for motherboard makers to be able to avail themselves of a new, more feature-rich/integrated platform controller hub to release refreshed high-end desktop motherboards.
And, to the extent that Intel can get paid a premium for the features that it integrates into future PCH chips (since motherboard makers would no longer need to buy third-party chips for said features), the better it is for the company's platform average selling prices, revenues, and profits.
Finally, the mainstream desktop PCH chips are likely more cost-optimized than their datacenter counterparts, which should lead to lower high-end desktop PCH manufacturing costs. Intel may choose to pass some, or all, of those cost savings onto its motherboard partners.
10 stocks we like better than Intel
When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor , has tripled the market.*
David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now...and Intel wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.
Click here to learn about these picks!
*Stock Advisor returns as of May 1, 2017.


text:
If you grew up playing video games, you know the radical change “gaming” has experienced in the last 20 years. One very notable change has happened in the past few years: video game companies now release new, downloadable content for gamers to purchase online.
Gamers pay for this new, sought-after content through their credit card, which is often linked to their in-game persona, or “avatar.” These avatars can be customized in any way the user wishes. Hair length, color, and style can be switched at any time, but if the user decides that s/he wants the avatar to sport his favorite basketball team’s latest gear, he will have to pay for those extras.
Redefining The Gaming Experience
The days where gamers went to their local retailer to purchase the latest first-person shooter or adventure video game are almost gone. While this might seem to spell trouble for specialized, brick-and-mortar gaming retailers, this opens up many new opportunities for affiliate marketers – to promote video game sales, both on and offline.
Credit card offers, video game specials, as well as in-store and in-game coupons are available for promoters to push to their site traffic. There’s another reason that video game companies themselves are pushing the new online-only model as well: without having to worry about physical media, production costs will drop. This creates a golden opportunity for publishers to market downloadable media, hopefully bringing in a new wave of video game marketing.
Talking With the Giants of the Video Game Industry
Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata made an announcement during his Electronic Entertainment Expo – better known as E3 – investor briefing, saying that:
“With respect to the Wii U system, when we began working on it, one of our goals was to have a variety of purchase options and additional e-commerce options available at its launch. And because of that, we have prepared a Digital Rights Management system. We have designed the system from a technical standpoint to allow developers to freely take advantage of things like free-to-play and micro-transactions.”
It’s not difficult to see that this is where the video game industry is headed. Even casual gamers are greeted with new, downloadable avatar extras and advertisements designed to entice them to purchase highly-addictive mini-games when they log into their gaming accounts.
Electronic Arts COO, Peter Moore, believes that within the next five to ten years, a majority of games will be available for gamers to play … free of charge. So how will companies like EA make their money?
These future-forward industry insiders are hoping that when users want in-game extras like weapons, clothing or even a home, they’ll pay for it – using the credit card registered to their account. In an interview conducted by Kotaku’s Stephen Totilo, Moore stated the following:
“I think, ultimately, those micro transactions will be in every game, but the game itself or the access to the game will be free. I think there’s an inevitability that happens five years from now, 10 years from now, that, let’s call it the client, to use the term, [is free.] It is no different than… it’s free to me to walk into The Gap in my local shopping mall. They don’t charge me to walk in there. I can walk into The Gap, enjoy the music, look at the jeans and what have you, but if I want to buy something I have to pay for it.”
Unlocking New Opportunities
This new way of conducting business online gives the video game industry new avenues of both revenue AND advertising to explore. The affiliate marketing community can and will take part in this revolution as well.
As gamers come into their own (and stop depending on their parents for economic support) and video game developers target the entire family with games like Wii Sports and Rock Band, the opportunities for online sales growth are monumental.
The rise of family-oriented video games and so-called “micro games” mean that there is an opportunity to market video game related programs and services to your site audience, even if you do not traditionally target gamers or care much about the “gaming” industry as a whole. Want to chime in? Leave your comments below.


text:
Read more: Click here to read the original, longer version of this story.
CASH is no longer king. The latest figures show that in 2014, the total number of cashless transactions overtook ones using cash for the first time in the UK. The change can be attributed to new technology – apps for phones and contactless systems that allow you to pay by waving a card or a phone over a terminal. Many other countries see similar trends.
It’s convenient, but are there downsides to a cashless society? Banks have proved to be poor guardians of the public interest and tech firms disrespectful of our privacy, so it is right to ask this question. Our research for the free online Money and Society course at the University of Cumbria, UK, identified four key concerns.
First is consumer protection. E-payment systems are becoming akin to utilities such as


text:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has given orders to extend the no sailing for cruises regulation. This order, however, has met travel advisors’ objections. Being said so, the U.S. government has reported back that they have decided to veto this agency’s recommendation to extend the order through February 2021.
Vicky Garcia, co-owner of Cruise Planners mentioned this matter as an unjust order, “the cruise industry should be able to voluntarily suspend operations and this was the right decision to make, but now the industry is being butchered by the mandatory extension. What we see is that the cruise industry is being singled out by the CDC because resorts, hotels, theme parks, restaurants, and airlines are not included in this caliber.”
She added that by the ASTA study, 73 percent of tourists who have taken a cruise in the past year are willing to go on a cruise again, even now. “Eventually, it is the individual travelers who have to determine their own risk when it comes to any type of travel.”
Marcy Zyonse from Live the Dream Travel opposing to the subject says that “the cruise lines have already come up with an accurate and extensive plan. There has to be a starting point to resume cruising. It could take a while before ships get back to full capacity, but right now, a partnership between the government and the cruise lines with low capacity, short sailings, strict guidelines, and contingency plans looks like a rational first step.”
Richard Turen also believes that lines are ready to resume operations. He is the travel expert of Churchill & Turen. “It seems weird to me that the media has not reported nor mentioned that during the height of the COVID outbreaks earlier this year, the world’s top-10 rated cruise lines operated without any reported major COVID outbreaks.”
Traveling has become a deep desire for those who have been faithfully respecting the quarantine rules. Though in many countries businesses have resumed their work, by executing the health and safety regulations, some industries seem to suffer more. If one is ready to hit the road –the sea in this case- again, they must consider the prohibitions while listening up to the facts that travel advisors are giving.


text:
project44, Chicago, and Gatehouse Logistics, UK, entered into an exclusive multinational partnership delivering comprehensive transportation visibility across Europe and North America.
This partnership provides visibility into key transportation processes, ensuring global organizations can accurately see and proactively respond to all events in their supply chain at the “speed of thought.”
“project44 and Gatehouse Logistics have been championing the importance of high-fidelity data for years,” says Jesper Bennike, chief executive officer of Gatehouse Logistics. “This collaboration aligns with both company’s core promise to deliver the most comprehensive global visibility engine powered only by secure, high-quality and real-time information.”
Gatehouse Logistics delivers ghTrack, a GDPR-compliant, neutral and hardware agnostic data-sharing service, while project44 offers a large and inclusive network of capacity providers connected via ELD, telematics, direct API connections, app-less tracking or smartphone applications. Together, customers now have immediate and actionable access to a network of 175,000 multimodal carriers comprised of 90,000 capacity providers in North America and 85,000 in Europe.
“Visibility is the No. 1 supply chain initiative. We’ve seen a record number of North American and European companies investing in real-time visibility platforms to be used either standalone or with a TMS, CRM, WMS or ERP,” says Jett McCandless, founder and CEO of project44. “This partnership accelerates the speed at which manufacturers, retailers, e-commerce providers, distributors, freight forwarders and 3PLs can successfully realize the benefits of end-to-end visibility by working with a single visibility provider for all shipments regardless of geographic location.”


text:
Considering that Vail Resorts claimed it sold 2.1 million Epic Passes prior to this season, it probably should be of little surprise that the resort conglomerate has reported skier visits were up during 2021-22.
Vail said that total skier visits at its collection of North American ski resorts were up 12.5 percent over last year. However, in its press release, Vail makes no mention though about how that increase led to even more overcrowding and complaining at many of its resorts, including its holdings in New England.
“We are pleased with our overall results as the 2021-2022 North American ski season concludes which, as expected, are significantly outperforming results from the 2020-2021 season,” Vail CEO Kirsten Lynch said in a statement. “The prior year was significantly impacted by COVID-19 and related limitations and restrictions, which eased for most resorts in March and April of last year resulting in stronger visitation and revenue relative to the earlier parts of last season.”
Vail Resorts reported it saw increases in other revenue avenues as well. Lift ticket revenue was reported to be up 19.4 percent, ski school revenue up 53 percent, dining revenue up 73.2 percent, and retail revenue up 39 percent.


text:
FORBES ASIA’s, select 200 out of 15,000 stock-traded companies in Asia-Pacific with revenues between $5 million and $1 billion based on the following criteria: five-year average return on equity and pretax margin greater than 10%, positive sales and earnings per share growth for both the most recent fiscal one and three-year periods, debt less than 75% of shareholders’ equity, and a trading history of at least on year. The final list of 200 is not ranked.
Out of the 200, only 52 repeated from last year, although a dozen others returned to the BUB (Best Under a Billion) from lists previous to that. Of the 2013 group, four companies namely Hartalega Holdings, Mudajaya Group, Philweb & YGSoft—share the mark for longest BUB, which is four years.
There are 12 Malaysia companies listed. The table below is the full list of Forbes Asia 200 Best Under A Billion for 2012.
Recently, the Malay Mail Online published on their website about a just-released public opinion survey carried out this month by independent pollster Merdeka Center, 55 per cent of the 1,005 respondents said that they did not understand how the GST worked. Out of the total, 20 per cent of Malaysians said they know nothing about the GST, while 35 per cent said they do not know very much.
On January 2014, there will be a FREE online seminar to share the practical tips about GST implementation and application in both English & Mandarin. Registration page is at http://foundermethod.com/gst-training-malaysia
There are many GST workshops or sessions conducted by accounting firms that are highlighting this issue. However, this online seminar is specially cater for people who are time pressed or geographically isolated to attend physical seminars.
World Economic Forum (WEF) which is based in Geneva, Switzerland recently release “The Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014”. The ranking is based on 12 pillars to measure the competitiveness for each countries.
The pillars are Institutions, Infrastructure, Macroeconomic environment, Health and primary education, Higher education and training, Goods market efficiency, Labor market efficiency, Financial market development, Technological readiness, Market size, Business sophistication & Innovation.
In the report, Malaysia ranked the 24th most competitive nation among 148 countries up 1 spot from 25th out of 144 countries in 2012. Malaysia remained the second most competitive among Asean and has improved to seventh position among 25 Asia-Pacific countries.
The table below is top 25 of the ranking.
The Forbes Global 2000 is an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world features in Forbes magazine. The ranking is based on four criteria namely Sales, Profit, Assets and Market value.
The ranking was first published in 2003 and it is a useful indicator for leading public companies in the world. In 2013, the top 2 position, are dominated by companies from China where previously hold by companies from United States.
For the 2013 ranking, there are 20 Malaysian companies listed up from 18 in 2012. The newly listed companies are DRB-Hicom & Telekom Malaysia.
The table below is top 20 of 2013 Forbes Global 2000 and all the position of Malaysian companies in the list.
Every year, the Economist Corporate Network—the emerging markets advisory business of The Economist Group—conducts a survey of its 500 clients in Asia Pacific. These 500 firms are some of the world’s largest multinationals, and their collective views provide critical insights into the world’s fastest growing region.
The latest Asia Business Outlook Survey (ABOS) was carried out in December 2012. Respondents were all senior executives, many of them with overall responsibility for the Asia Pacific region. The majority came from Western multinational companies.
The survey shows that China, India and Indonesia hold the top 3 spot of the most popular investment spot in Asia while Malaysia not far behind at the 4th spot.
The table below is the top 13th list of the most popular investment spot in Asia.


text:
Former Snap Inc. chief strategy officer Imran Khan hopes to convince desirable brands that it’s better to retail with his startup than go direct-to-consumer.
Verishop, a new e-commerce platform launched by a former top Snap Inc. executive on Tuesday, has set itself a big task: attracting younger shoppers who have graduated from Amazon prices. After raising about $17 million from investors like Lightspeed Venture Partners, which also backed Goop and Stitch Fix, the millennial-centric lifestyle platform is entering a crowded, but quickly growing space.
Imran Khan, who served as Snap’s chief strategy officer until September 2018, began working on Santa Monica-based Verishop formally in January. While Verishop has been called a luxury version of Amazon, it is positioning itself price-wise somewhere between the US retail giant and accessible luxury brands catering to shoppers in their 20s and 30s. Verishop launched with 160 brands, most of which are in the contemporary price point and include Diane von Furstenberg, IRO and Milly. Prices range from $34 for a crop top to $750 for a jacket.
The plan is to disrupt the $3.8 trillion US retail market by not being a singular apparel or beauty e-tailer, but one that encompasses the full spectrum of millennial tastes while addressing the internet’s luxury counterfeit problem. The latter is a particular problem for Amazon’s third-party seller Marketplace, which has been criticised by the likes of Mercedes-Benz and Birkenstock for selling fakes. “Our vision is to be the best home for brands,” Khan told Vogue Business.
Verishop’s biggest challenge is the hollowing out of the traditional class of labels between fast fashion and luxury. Stalwarts like Coach and Kate Spade have increased prices and limited discounting, which had tarnished the brands’ cache. Meanwhile, a new crop of direct-to-consumer brands that prize direct relationships with their customers have upped the competition.
Verishop’s multi-label retailer strategy targets companies that seek greater exposure than their direct-to-consumer platforms can provide. When they partner with Khan, they’ll be working with someone who has led retail-related IPOs at Groupon and Alibaba before going on to Snap.
The Verishop Tastemaker section is set to expand as the platform grows.
“There are more and more quality brands with focused assortment, but that’s also caused a fragmented marketplace [with rising] customer acquisition costs as they try to be seen,” he says. “This is one of the problems we’re trying to solve... We think it will make shopping easier and less overwhelming for customers while helping brands get discovered.”
“The holy grail of fashion is marrying exclusivity and distribution,” says Simeon Siegel, managing director at Nomura/Instinet Equity Research. “Small unattainable brands don’t become behemoths, and large accessible brands lose their cache pretty quickly.”
Verishop will offer free shipping and returns, as well as 24/7 customer service. These are features customers have come to expect through multi-brand retailers, though they’re expensive to provide. They are also offered by Amazon, which is upping the ante on its social media-friendly Amazon Fashion brand, but it has yet to penetrate the fashion space as well as other apparel and lifestyle segments. Khan says Verishop will make up the margins with lower marketing spend. “We’re not going to invest heavily in marketing on Google or Facebook. The best marketing is customer support.”
Nods to millennial tastes and Khan’s Snap roots include Verishop’s Tastemaker and Responsible Shop features, which highlight curated influencer picks and sustainability-focused brands respectively. The Tastemaker section shines a spotlight on a few US-centric social media influencers who select products that consumers may then shop. It is similar to how department store Nordstrom has begun to interact with influencers, though Verishop is not yet as invested in the influencer space as, say, Revolve.
“The Tastemaker shop and influencer store will certainly expand over time,” Khan says. “It’s like walking down Fifth Avenue, but instead of brand stores, there are human brands’ stores for consumers to see what products they like.”
Notably absent are extended sizes for men and women, which are part of a fast-growing and underpenetrated $165 billion US market, especially at a mid-tier to high-end price point. Khan says that Verishop did not launch with plus-size brands due to time constraints and limited resources, though that will change in the future.
While Verishop has a ripe opportunity, other Amazon challengers know that the giant retailer can pivot quickly. “To truly succeed in fashion, [Amazon] will need to cater to the brands, focusing on the long game of building brand equity rather than simply being the most effective at moving units,” Siegel says. “Amazon is viewed as having a limitless and therefore faceless audience who demands nothing but convenience and value. Department stores or fashion brands conjure an image of a more discerning, and identifiable shopper, who rewards brands that take the time to speak to her.”
To receive the Vogue Business Technology Edit, sign up here.
Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at firstname.lastname@example.org.


text:
Chicago shopping centers sell for $40 million
A Chicago investment firm has paid nearly $40 million for two Chicago retail properties, including a historic shopping center on the North Side that recently lost a big tenant.
A fund managed by Newport Capital Partners paid $30.5 million for Lincoln Village, a 164,000-square-foot mall in Peterson Park that was built in the 1950s. Once known for its Hollywood Kiddieland amusement park, which closed in the 1970s, Lincoln Village is about 65 percent occupied after Office Depot shut its store there in November, said Newport Director Ben Andrews.
That occupancy rate is a good thing, in Newport's view. The firm often seeks out retail properties that need some work or have lots of vacant space, betting it can turn them around, boost their income and sell them for a big profit.
"If we execute on our business plan the way we know how, I think it will be a great deal," Andrews said.
The same Newport fund also paid $8.7 million for Kedzie Plaza, a 54,000-square-foot shopping center in the Southwest Side neighborhood of Brighton Park. That property is less of a fixer-upper, with a roughly 92 percent occupancy rate, Andrews said. Newport acquired the shopping center at 47th Street and Kedzie Avenue from local investor David Israel.
Newport bought Lincoln Village, at Lincoln Avenue and McCormick Boulevard, from Inventrust Properties, an Oak Brook-based real estate investment trust. Inventrust took a hit on the transaction, selling the shopping center for 24 percent less than the $40.1 million it paid back in 2006, near the peak of the last real estate boom. One reason for the price drop: Lincoln Village has a lot more empty space today than it did back then, when it was 97 percent leased.
CHANGE IN FOCUS
Inventrust sold Lincoln Village as part of a strategy to focus on Sun Belt markets with stronger population and job growth like Dallas, Atlanta, Raleigh, Austin, Southern California and Florida, Michael Podboy, the company's chief financial officer, said in a statement.
"We will continue to sell assets similar to Lincoln Village, which have market demographics that are not aligned with our long-term portfolio strategy or investment profile," he said.
Lincoln Village aligns closely with Newport's strategy. Founded in 2004, the firm likes mid-sized deals, targeting Midwestern retail properties that cost $10 million to $30 million. Newport is buying properties through its second investment fund as it continues to court investors for the fund.
The firm, which raised $45 million for its first fund, has taken in $60 million so far for the second, with a target of $250 million, Andrews said. With its two recent acquisitions, the fund now owns six shopping centers, including the Oaks of Oak Brook, which it acquired last year for $18 million. Outside the Chicago area, it owns properties in Cincinnati, St. Louis and suburban Milwaukee.
PROPERTIES WITH ISSUES
When it can find them, Newport likes to buy properties in strong locations that have some vacancy or other issue that keeps its purchase price down. In 2013, the firm paid $32 million for the Danada Square East shopping center in west suburban Wheaton, knowing there was a risk that the property might lose its largest tenant, a Dominick's grocery store.
After the Dominick's closed, Newport signed a new lease for the space with Whole Foods Market and then sold the shopping center last fall for $63.3 million, nearly twice what it paid.
Lincoln Village offers a similar opportunity, Andrews said. Retailers at the property, which encompasses five buildings, include Ross Dress for Less, Starbucks, Panera Bread, Famous Footwear and Fifth Third Bank.
Though Office Depot closed in November, it is still paying rent on a 24,100-square-foot space through the end of the year, Andrews said. Newport aims to lease the space to one or more tenants, he said.
Kedzie Plaza, meanwhile, doesn't need as much work, though Andrews expects Newport will spend some money fixing up its facade and parking lot. Tenants include Dollar Tree, Fallas Stores and Access Community Health.
"It's just a good, solid neighborhood center," Andrews said.
Evan Halkias, managing director at Cushman & Wakefield, represented Inventrust in the sale of Lincoln Village. Rick Drogosz, principal at Mid-America Real Estate, represented Israel in the sale of Kedzie Plaza.
The occupancy rate for Lincoln Village has been corrected in this updated story.
The ongoing discussion between the Bears and northwest suburban school districts is a key test of whether the two sides can find middle ground.
It's a bold plan that could serve as a blueprint for others amid a flailing office market and strong demand for apartments.
A temporary installation draws eyes to the isolated parcel east of the Drive that's supposed to honor Jean Baptiste Point DuSable.


text:
As he wrapped up a brunch shift at the Australian cafe Two Hands in the Little Italy section of Manhattan, Christopher Mortenson saw his phone light up. All afternoon, he had been waiting for the notification: ABC Cocina, an upscale Latin American restaurant in the Flatiron district, needed a line cook. He had an hour to get there.
When the shift ended, Mr. Mortenson started sprinting uptown. On his way to the restaurant, he ducked into a supply store to pick up a white chef’s jacket, which he threw over his T-shirt. He arrived at ABC Cocina just before 5 and spent the evening charring peppers with a blowtorch and stuffing pork into pillowy tortillas.
In December, Mr. Mortenson, tired of working 50 hours a week for low pay, quit his job as a cook at a vegetarian restaurant in Manhattan and became a full-time member of the gig economy. Now he races around New York, working shifts at a rotating cast of restaurants that use the hospitality staffing app Pared. So far, he has cooked in more than 70 kitchens, including Osteria Morini in SoHo and Riverpark in Kips Bay.
“I have to turn the notifications off at night — I can’t sleep,” said Mr. Mortenson, 51, who has worked full time at restaurants in Las Vegas, San Francisco and Austin, Tex. “They send me so many jobs I can’t even look at my app right now without 10 jobs being on there.”
Gig workers are nothing new in the restaurant world. Every day, contractors on bikes and scooters deliver food for Uber Eats and DoorDash. But in a growing number of kitchens, contract workers now make the food, too.
With the restaurant industry facing its worst labor shortage in decades, Pared and a rival app, Instawork, are filling a growing void, as managers who have struggled to recruit permanent employees turn to the on-demand services for workers trained as dishwashers, servers, line cooks and even oyster shuckers.
As the apps become more established, some workers are exchanging the stability of traditional hospitality jobs for the flexibility of temporary employment. Others are using the apps to make a quick buck on the side. The development has raised concerns among some labor advocates, who argue that the same pay and equity problems that have emerged in other parts of the gig economy, like ride-hailing and delivery, could come to the restaurant kitchen.
“The workers don’t have access to a union. They don’t have access to collective bargaining,” said Ifeoma Ajunwa, a labor and employment law expert at Cornell University. “They basically are powerless to whatever the platform decides are the rules.”
Founded in San Francisco in 2015, Pared has more than 100,000 people signed up on its platform, along with several thousand restaurants in the Bay Area and New York. The company said it planned to expand to Washington, Boston and Philadelphia in the coming months.
Instawork, also founded in San Francisco, operates in 11 markets. A little under half a million people have signed up with Instawork. Pared has raised $13 million in venture capital, while Instawork has raised $28 million.
“The times are changing,” said Will Pacio, a co-founder of Pared. “Businesses need to evolve with the culture of the work force.”
Restaurants pay the apps for a worker’s completed shift. The apps then deduct a portion of that fee for themselves and give the worker the rest. Neither service would reveal revenue figures or its valuation.
Hourly wages vary based on a range of factors, including the location of a gig (a high-end restaurant in the Hamptons would pay more than a mom-and-pop eatery in Queens) and when the posting appears on the app (workers earn more for taking shifts that become available at the last minute).
In 2018, Pared’s gig workers made an average of $19.66 an hour, the company said. Instawork contractors earn an average of $22.77 an hour in the Bay Area and $19.37 in greater Los Angeles, according to Sumir Meghani, one of the company’s founders.
“We try our best not to talk about money in front of other employees that are employed full time at the restaurant,” said Zia Sheikh, a New York chef who picks up gigs through Pared. “You don’t want to go up to a line cook making $17 an hour and say, ‘Hey, I’m here doing a shift for $25.’ That’s not good for them.”
One frequent Pared customer is Jean-Georges Management, an upscale restaurant group based in New York that includes ABC Cocina. On July 4, more than 600 people gathered for a waterfront dinner party at the company’s new seafood location, the Fulton, where the guests dined on sashimi, caviar, and fish and chips.
“Hundreds and hundreds of pounds of fish were butchered that day,” said Gregory Brainin, the director of culinary development at Jean-Georges Management.
A few days before the event, Mr. Brainin had realized he didn’t have enough cooks to prepare all that fish. So he called Dave Lu, one of Pared’s founders.
“I told him, ‘I need eight guys for the Fourth of July, and these are the levels I need, and these are the specialists I need,’” Mr. Brainin said. “And he got it done.”
Though Pared and Instawork feel akin to the ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft, or a platform like Wonolo, used by gig workers in various industries like retailing, manufacturing and hospitality, Mr. Lu likens it to the social platform LinkedIn.
“As they work on our platform, they gain skills and experience,” he said. “They get exposed to better and nicer and nicer restaurants, different environments and different cuisines.”
For chefs hoping to advance their careers, however, short stints through Instawork and Pared may not provide the kind of sustained experience they will ultimately need.
“I worry about hireability and the accumulation of skills over time,” said Mr. Brainin, the Jean-Georges director. “The person that temps for two years as their job — I don’t know how hirable that person then becomes when they do want to buckle down and get serious.”
Career development is not the only issue. Like Uber drivers, workers who use the hospitality apps are classified as independent contractors rather than employees, meaning they’re not entitled to benefits like health care, paid time off or unemployment insurance. Gig workers can buy occupational accident insurance through Pared and Instawork in exchange for a small slice of their wages.
“These apps are attractive in that they present a quick fix to finding work and finding labor,” said Ms. Ajunwa, the law professor at Cornell University. “But they’re also dangerous in that they can doom workers who use them to a lifetime of precarious work.”
Still, with unemployment low and restaurants struggling, the apps seem poised to grow, potentially exacerbating the shortage of full-time employees. A recent report by the research firm TDn2K found that 93 percent of restaurant chains said their kitchens were often understaffed. Across the country, restaurants have tried a variety of strategies to recruit new employees, including quarterly bonuses and a partnership with AARP.
“Not only is turnover high,” said Victor Fernandez, an industry analyst at TDn2K, “but employees are quickly deciding that there are better options somewhere else and taking those options.”
Among them is Mr. Mortenson, who said he could not imagine going back to a full-time restaurant job. “I’m making more money than I have ever made in this industry,” he said. “This is crazy.”
Part of the appeal, he said, is that the app exposes him to new experiences, whether icing gingerbread cookies at Bouchon Bakery or cooking short ribs for Twitter employees at the cafe in the company’s New York office.
“It doesn’t make me a better cook,” he said. “But it’s so amazing to go into a new restaurant every day.”


text:
The next-generation Jeep Wrangler production will commence in Toledo this November at Fiat Chrysler's Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio. The plant is currently assembling Jeep Cherokee and its production is expected to come to an end in early April, a Toledo Blade article stated.
In April, the assembly will be partially shut down for six months in order to retool and make the complex ready for the production of the new Jeep Wrangler. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles hasn't revealed the launch date of the new model.
But, one thing is confirmed by the president of the United Auto Workers Local 12, Bruce Baumhower is that the plant will start building the next-generation Wrangler in November.
The company will cease the production of the current Wrangler in March and, in early April, will move the production of the Cherokee from Toledo to its other facility on Belvidere, Illinois.
It is also reported that the 2018 Wrangler will use aluminium in its construction. The new model won't adopt a body that'll be entirely made from lightweight materials like carbon fibre and kevlar.
Some rumours have also surfaced suggesting that the new Wrangler will get new powertrains, like a diesel or even a hybrid unit. Anyway, Fiat Chrysler has invested $700 million in the Toledo plant to make everything ready for the production.


text:
When he hears from visitors patronizing his store, Eli Silverstein said there's a common thread.
"We had a store like this my hometown," visitors tell the owner of in Havre de Grace.
The key word: had.
Stores like Joseph's simply don't exist anymore. But in Havre de Grace, the clothing store is still running after all these years.
"Business has gotten more difficult today than I can every remember. It's really tough for a small business," Silverstein said. "We could not be in business without the fact that we own the building. If I had to pay the going rate for rent at a mall, we couldn’t exist. It’s tough. It’s really tough."
Silverstein has seen more businesses come and go than most property owners in Havre de Grace.
"Havre de Grace has a lot going for it, with regard to the location on the water, we have a lot of really fine restaurants," Silverstein said. "I’m hearing from a lot of people that have moved into Bulle Rock. The new people in town are very downtown oriented. They’re supporting us. They go into the Vineyard, Laurrapin Grille and the other restaurants."
Silverstein hopes on Saturday they'll patronize and —which are being mobbed by Havre de Grace Main Street.
The Mob The Merchant event hits both downtown businesses Saturday morning, in an attempt to drive a high volume of traffic into the shops.
The mob starts at Josephs—at 122 North Washington St.—at 9:30 a.m., followed by a visit to —at 358 Pennington Ave.—at 10 a.m.
Patch placed calls to Dark Sea Glass but did not hear back.
from local photographer , which features some of the shop's fine work.
TELL US: Are you planning to join the mob on Saturday? Leave a comment.


text:
The pan-fried chicken wasn’t hot enough at the gates of Auschwitz. Another patron whines the coffee costs more than in Krakow.
The concerns of tourists in a restaurant at the mouth of the world’s most horrid place reveal a paradox. The paradox of Auschwitz.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
“Where do you put the public toilets at Auschwitz?” laments Robert Jan van Pelt, a University of Waterloo architecture professor who is a world authority on the site and who developed a master plan for the preservation of Auschwitz and its legacy.
“People always complain about Auschwitz as a tourist site and, of course, with so many people wanting to visit, it cannot be anything but a tourist site,” says van Pelt. “This is the reality of mass tourism.”
But Auschwitz isn’t Disney World. It wasn’t built to be beautiful, nor designed for enjoyment or comfort. It wasn’t even built to last.
“It is an impossible task.”
The realities of mass tourism that is destroying Venice and Amsterdam are destroying Auschwitz,
Auschwitz is now the symbol of the Holocaust.


text:
A network engineer going by the hacker handle 'Deviant Ollam' has taken it upon himself to send care packages of a different sort to troops serving overseas, with him ditching the usual goods in favor...
A week of Windows updates, TV twists and Chromebook's business flop
Ulefone Be Touch: Video unboxing and first impressions
LG G4 Review - the phone that tries to offer everything
Our review of the Microsoft Designer Bluetooth Desktop
Galactic Civilizations III now available on Steam
galactic civilizations 3
Tronsmart's USB Smart Charger; an ideal solution for the household?
All the latest news for Windows 10 Mobile and Desktop previews
The US military is developing a robot with a teddy bear-style head to help carry injured soldiers away from the battlefield. The Battlefield Extraction Assist Robot (BEAR) can scoop up even the heaviest of casualties...
It's a far cry from the dancing playmates in Apocalypse Now, or even from Bob Hope and Rita Hayworth, but a number of PC companies are offering technology to provide a little holiday cheer for...
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer called on employees to take more responsibility for leading the high-tech industry and reshaping the software maker's image. In a memo sent Thursday, Ballmer called on Microsoft's 50,000...


text:
SURFSIDE - Change is the key word for Surfside Golf Course. A new and expanded clubhouse opened last summer. The course is seeing a facelift, with improvements cropping up everywhere. But perhaps the biggest change is adding golf pro Jon Kukula to the staff.
Kukula says of the improvements, "They are long overdue. The clubhouse will be more open and worker-friendly, as well as much more comfortable for our golfers." There is a meeting room for the leagues. The pro shop is triple the size and with very clean lines, allowing more space for merchandise and for golfers to relax and enjoy the ambience.


text:
🚨 Emergency Alert! 🌿 California regulators impose an embargo on cannabis products from 3 companies. Join us as we investigate the reasons behind this unprecedented move, the potential risks to consumers, and the broader impact on the cannabis industry. Expert insights, industry reactions, and on-site reports provide a comprehensive overview of the crisis. Subscribe now for exclusive coverage of the evolving situation in California’s cannabis market. Stay informed, stay vigilant! 🌐🔍🔒
Like, share, and subscribe to stay updated on the latest developments in California’s cannabis market and emergency actions by regulators!


text:
Assante Hydrostone’s blog and news updates.
Webinar – Perspective on the Market
Join us online on Thursday, November 26th for a Perspective on the Market webinar featuring Greg Giffin, VP Sales at CI Investments Inc.
Greg will be sharing his insight on current global market conditions and what history tells us might happen in the future.
Date: Thursday, November 26th | 12 pm


text:
Macy's CEO Jeff Gennette told analysts that the department store chain will begin opening smaller stores outside of malls over the next two years. The news comes after Macy's announcement in February that it would close underperforming stores in malls. It's a blow to these weaker shopping centers, which depend on their anchor stores to bring in foot traffic. In the U.S., Macy's is the biggest anchor store of them all. Gennette made it clear that Macy's isn't abandoning malls entirely. But the retailer is clearly envisioning a time when its fate is not linked quite so closely to the struggling shopping mall sector.
“We continue to believe that the best malls in the country will thrive,” he said. “However, we also know that Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s have high potential off-mall and in smaller formats.”


text:
Early in the week, Google held several developer showcases around the world for its 2.0 update to the Android mobile platform. Today, the internet search giant has made the operating system's new feature set public, highlighting the benefits for both the user and the developer.
Bluetooth seems to be taking something of a front seat in the 2.0 update (also known as Eclair, in accordance with Google's proclivity for naming its software after confectionery), with the system being updated to Bluetooth 2.1 and the inclusion of Object Push Profiles and Phone Book Access Profiles.
For users, much of Eclair's new benefits focus on synchronisation. Multiple email accounts, including Microsoft Exchange accounts, can now be added to a device, and a combined inbox will allow users to browse email from multiple accounts on a single page.
A host of new APIs have also been made available to Android developers, including complete Bluetooth access, sync adapters to connect to any backend, an account manager to securely store user data, direct support for a camera flash, support for HTML 5 (including geolocation) and a host of other small but interesting new features.
Check out the official Android developers page for more information, and take a look at the official 2.0 features video below.
News Feb 7th, 2023
|Yorkshire Games Festival 2023||Feb 4th|
|LEAP Tech Conference 2023||Middle East||Feb 6th|
|Steam Next Fest 2023||Feb 6th|
|#G4L Gaming Final Boss 2023||Europe||Feb 8th|
|WN Conference Belgrade 2023||Europe||Feb 8th|
|Gamesforum Barcelona 2023||Europe||Feb 8th|
|Guildford Games Festival 2023||Europe||Feb 10th|
|#G4L Celebrate Gaming 2023||Europe||Feb 10th|


text:
The Bauchi State Fertiliser Company is to resume production next week after it was shut down, due to financial constraints.
The state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Samaila Burga, made the announcement at the flag-off of the 2020 farming season in Bauchi on Saturday.
He said company would start rolling out various fertiliser brands next week, following the granting of financial support to the company by the government.
Burga disclosed that Gov. Bala Mohammed had also reinvigorated the Bauchi State Agricultural Supply Company with financial support to re-start the state’s fertiliser revolving scheme.
“Two hundred million naira was released for the settlement of about N700 million debt owed the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority. Therefore, this will pave the way for the state’s fertiliser company to resume production next week.”
The commissioner said that arrangements had been concluded on resumption of the production lines and that the purchase of needed raw materials had also been arranged.
He said that the resuscitation of the plant would make its products to compete with similar products produced locally or overseas.


text:
STM32’s LoRaWAN Software Upgraded to Support Latest Firmware Over-the-Air Updates
The I-CUBE-LRWAN Expansion Package allows developers to support the latest firmware updated over the air (FUOTA) specifications from the LoRa Alliance.
With the continuous release of new microcontrollers, it is important to update firmware in pre-existing microcontrollers for an optimized system. One way to implement new firmware is through firmware updates over the air (FUOTA).
STMicroelectronics recently announced that its STM32 LoRaWAN software expansion package has been updated to support the latest FUOTA specifications from the LoRa Alliance. These specifications include Application Layer Clock Synchronization for time synchronization, Remote Multicast Setup for sending messages to end devices, and Fragmented Data Block Transport for data-file splitting.
The STM32Cube Ecosystem is the complete software solution for STM32 microcontrollers and now supports the latest LoRaWAN FUOTA specifications. Image from STMicroelectronics
STM32 developers can now create LoRa endpoint devices that support FUOTA for STM32L4 microcontrollers. These MCUs can update using the Secure Boot and Secure Firmware Update solution. Updates may include corrections for potential issues and new feature additions.
To ensure robustness of the expansion package, it is interoperable with network servers including Actility and Senet. Oliver Herscent, CEO of Actility, said that “Actility is happy to provide fully interoperable servers with ST solution that will help all ST's customers keep their devices running with the latest security and feature updates.”
The I-CUBE-LRWAN Expansion Package Compatibility
STM32 LoRa software expansion for STM32Cube. Image from STMicroelectronics
The software can also be applied with sensor expansion boards in the STM32 Nucleo ecosystem—for instance, the LoRa nodes in the P-NUCLEO-LRWAN2 and P-NUCLEO-LRWAN3 developer packs. In addition, I-CUBE-LRWAN Expansion Package can be used for LPWAN development boards.
The Benefits of FUOTA
With the continuous release of new and updated microcontrollers, it is important that devices with pre-existing microcontrollers have access to updated firmware that can optimize a system or address previous issues.
Using microcontrollers with FUOTA capabilities offers many benefits to both developers and customers. With the ability to continuously update firmware, customer expectations can be met with faster upgrade times, mitigated risks, and cost-effectiveness.
A huge advantage is not having to physically change any aspect of a device, which enables developers to spend more time on the actual firmware rather than hardware, thus allowing any updates to get deployed to the market quicker. This also tackles an environmental issue, helping to reduce waste of obsolete products by extending the lifecycle of existing products.
Examples of FUOTA
FUOTA are extremely valuable for IoT and wireless devices and are slowly becoming mainstream in automobiles.
A prime example of the benefit of FUOTA lies in newer models of cars that can have more than 50 microcontrollers. Implementing FUOTA allows automobile manufacturers to remotely update a system rather than having owners bring their cars to a physical shop for maintenance. Similarly, developers that implement LoRaWAN IoT sensors want to ensure the longevity of products that may spend more than 10 years in the field.
Example of where FUOTA can affect specific electronic control units (ECUs) inside a car. Image from STMicroelectronics
Implementing FUOTA “future-proofs” LoRa devices by applying application-layer and RF stack updates to devices already deployed in the field.
While more of our designs become wireless, the need for finding reliable ways to safely update them is crucial. With any FUOTA, security and privacy should be prioritized and can be ensured by preventing unauthorized updates and access to confidential on-device data.
While using a FUOTA partner can help developers manage the versions of their firmware, it can be risky as some FUOTA partners install adware or spyware over the air. Proper security and privacy measures should always be implemented to avoid compromising user’s safety.
To ameliorate this issue, the I-CUBE-LRWAN Expansion Package allows users to easily integrate a secure element.
Have you implemented FUOTA in any products or projects? Let us know in the comments below.


text:
Tapbots announced today that Tweetbot 2.0 for Mac will be released on Yosemite and it’ll be a free update for existing customers.
Tweetbot for Yosemite has been more work than anticipated, but it is coming…and yes, it will be a free update! http://t.co/HOQI4fSdsO
— Tweetbot by Tapbots (@tweetbot) February 4, 2015
My preference on iOS these days may go to Twitter’s official app, but, on the desktop, Twitter for Mac is in a very sad state, whereas Tweetbot is a great client with tons of handy features. I’m curious to see if Tapbots will manage to add support for modern Twitter features, but, overall, the visual refresh is already looking good. Considering that it’ll be a free update, you can buy the app today from the Mac App Store, get your Twitter token in, and wait for the new version to launch.


text:
KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has received an application against Pacific International Lines (PIL) and its agents in Pakistan, M/s Pacific Delta Shipping (Pvt) Ltd in a mega scam of demurrage and detention worth billions.
The complaint received by the FIA demanded legal action for recoveries of amounts looted and recovering losses of Rs. 610 billion to the national exchequer per year while also stopping such further losses from the accused persons of these companies including S.S.Teo, Peter Chang, Tan Chor Kee, William Tay, Teo Tend Seng, Tony Teo, Choo Wee Teo, Kuan Kim Kin, others of PIL Ltd; and Bakhtiar Khan, Naveed Ahmad Khan, Tay Kian Phuan William, Teo Chew Seng, Teo Siong Seng, Qamar Naqi, Baig Mirza Mueez, Khan Imran and others of M/S Pacific Delta Shipping (Pvt) Ltd.
Sources said Pacific International Lines is a shipping company incorporated in Singapore in 1967. The founder of PIL is the Chinese entrepreneur Chang Yun Chung. While Bakhtiar Khan is owner of Delta Group of Companies and Chief Executive Officer at Delta Transport (Pvt) Ltd engaged with businesses like transportation, trucking and railroad.
Sources said Pacific Delta Shipping (Pvt) Ltd is also a company of Delta Group and working as agents of PIL in Pakistan. Sources further said that main beneficiary of the Pacific Delta Shipping is Adil Khan and he is also key planner of mega scam of demurrage and detention through which his company is looting and bleeding the genuine importers of Pakistan and robbing billions of rupees from them annually.
As per the complaint received by the FIA, the nexus of some Customs staff, Port Qasim and shipping lines like PIL Ltd and its agent M/S Pacific Delta Shipping (Pvt) Ltd are making illegal money through malpractice.
“Firstly, customs department delays goods of majority of containers that arrive in red channel. 80% of the goods cleared in red channel take a duration which is more than the free days provided by the port terminals. Hence, the port terminals take huge amounts from the importers on each consignment thus delayed. These shipping lines also force the importers to pay huge illegal sums. All these three: the customs staff, port terminals, shipping lines as mentioned above delay the clearance and delivery of the goods to the importer. Due to this delay, the revenue collection of duty and taxes is slowed down drastically of the actual speed. Like where these goods were to be cleared and delivered in 2 days then it takes an average of 20 days to clear and deliver,” the complaint said.
The complaint received by the FIA said, “The total revenue collection by customs department is Rs. 610 billion. If the process of revenue collection is not slowed down by the above-mentioned parties then at least the revenue collections could be doubled. Hence, total loss to national exchequer due to above nexus and illegal acts of the subject accused is Rs. 610 billion”.
“The terminal ports and shipping lines are not allowed to collect any demurrage and detention amounts from the importer when the importer provides ‘delay and detention certificate’ under section 14 A of the Customs Act, 1969. Despite this, the port terminals and shipping lines blackmail and harass the importer to collect hundreds of thousands of rupees per single consignment. Since this is illegal money demanded from the citizens of Pakistan and hence it can be termed as an ‘extortion’ amount,” the complaint said.
The complaint said, furthermore, under rules 603 (Q), 603 (R), 604 (Q) and 607 (E), others of SRO 1220 (I)/2015, the shipping lines cannot charge any demurrage or detention charges where it is not specifically written on the B/L. But still in violation of these rules and laws, the shipping lines fearlessly hold the containers of the importers and charge them exorbitant detention charges. These detention charges even exceed the actual cost of container by a whopping 1,000%!
“The shipping lines charges only 30% of its cost from the importer to allure importer to give his containers to them. All remaining 70% of cost and huge profits are made through illegal means and black money. Like China-Pak cost of shipment for a 40HQ container is charged USD 300 whereas the actual cost to the shipping company is USD 1,000. Pak-China freight is almost USD 0 to USD 10 which is even more surprising. When white income of these shipping lines is only 30% of their cost then it is obvious that they are indulging in many illegal and black activities to cover cost and also make huge profits,” the complaint said.
“When complaints are made to Customs department then they do not take action against the accused which is mandatory under sections 156 (1) 7A of the Customs Act, 1969 and also rules 603 (Q), 603 (R), 604 (Q) and 607 (E), others of SRO 1220 (I)/2015. The nexus of some Customs officials, PIL Ltd and Pacific Delta has made these active provisions of law entirely redundant and they should be severely punished for the same,” the complaint said.
The complaint demanded from the FIA to take legal action against the subject accused persons, recover amounts looted by them, recover losses suffered by national exchequer to the tune of Rs. 610 billion per year and stop further losses.


text:
British scientists are developing a pair of trousers with “inflatable muscles” that can keep elderly people mobile and less reliant on wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
‘The Right Trousers’, named after Wallace and Gromit’s famous ‘Wrong Trousers’, have been designed as part of a £2m publicly funded project to make a product that can help elderly people stay on their feet and complete tasks more easily.
The trousers allow elderly people to go to the toilet more easily thanks to a button that automatically undoes.
Professor Jonathan Rossiter from the University of Bristol told an audience at the British Science Festival this week that he envisaged the clothes being cheap and available within 10 years.
He said the developers’ “dream” is to make the trousers ubiquitous so that people can purchase them easily from shops like Boots.
Each “inflatable muscle” in the trousers can lift up to 6kg and feature a stiffening device to hold knees securely when people want to stand.
The trousers are not designed to take over from legs but to augment them and researchers hope to incorporate additional features such that electrical muscle stimulation.
Developers are currently looking to work with a leading prosthetics company.
Image credit: National Trust /Getty Images